Well, this is Current Yield, Grant's interest rate observer of the air. Thank you for joining us. I am Jim Grant, and with me as always, Eric Whitehead, control panel, the great editor.

Ah, oh, wait, I was going to give a promotion. Deputy Editor, not so fast, Lorenz. Evan Lorenz is with us, and Phil Grant, who runs our almost daily grants, and we are here today

to talk about the public debt, which is a huge topic. In fact, to borrow from Donald Trump

talking in Davos, Switzerland, he gave a half an hour talk, and he was, some said, boastful

about America's winning under his administration. And a very funny man from the Daily Telegraph of London was there, Michael Deakin,

and he wrote the following about Trump's speech.

He did not quite say, writes the Daily Telegraph,

he did not quite say American men were taller and stronger and more manly than ever before, or that American women were hotter than ever before.

You wouldn't believe how much hotter they were over 30% hotter than under the last administration.

It was incredible how hot they were under.

He didn't say that.

But no one would have batted an eye if he had said it.

And that's Donald Trump, who is beside over the most fabulous, tremendous expansion of the public

debt. Many people are saying. I think many people are saying that. So the point before the question

for the House is, does this matter? I mean, it's the public debt is, what, $23 trillion in change?

If you walk between West 44th Street between 6th Avenue and I guess 7th Avenue, you or Broadway,

I lost track of which.

Anyway, West 44th Street, there is a public debt clock, and it ticks away.

And I think the number is 23.something trillion.

And, you know, it's a lot of money even when you say it fast.

So the question is, does it matter?

Does it matter for investments?

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